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Ode to Green Smoothie
by Victoria Boutenko, Health Educator, Author from Russia

As the Russian proverb says: New- is something old, that has been long forgotten.

This summer I re-discovered Green Smoothies. I like Green Smoothies so much that I bought an extra blender and placed it in my office, so that I could make green smoothies throughout the day.

I now have so much more energy and clarity that I have stopped making the green juices I used to painstakingly make for my diet. Juicing had been something I had been doing regularly for years, but when I discovered how to make Green Smoothies, I get even more benefit with less work and they taste delicious.

Some of the benefits Green smoothies provide for human health are as follows:

1. Green smoothies are very nutritious because they are made from fresh, uncooked (so their vitamins and minerals are still intact), organic (preferably) fruits and veggies.

2. Green smoothies are easy to digest. When blended well, all the valuable nutrients in the fruits and veggies become homogenized, or divided into such small particles that it becomes easy for the body to assimilate the nutrients. In fact, the green smoothies literally start to get absorbed while still in your mouth.

3. Green smoothies, as opposed to juices, are still a whole, complete food because they still have fiber.

4. Green smoothies belong to the most palatable of dishes for all humans of all ages. With a ratio of fruits to veggies of 60:40 (better yet, make that 40% fruit and 60% veggies) the fruit taste dominates the flavor, yet at the same time the green vegetables balance out the sweetness of the fruit, adding a nice zest to it.

Green smoothies are simply the best tasting dishes for the majority of adults and children. I always make extra-large smoothies in my Vitamix and offer it to my friends and customers, some of whom are still consuming a standard American diet. They all finish their big cup of Green Smoothies with compliments. They were quite surprised that something so green could taste so nice and sweet.

5. By consuming two or three cups of green smoothies daily you will consume enough greens for the day to nourish your body, and they will be well assimilated.

Many people do not consume enough greens, even those on a raw food diet. The molecule of chlorophyll has only one atom that makes it different from a molecule of human blood. According to the teachings of Dr. Ann Wigmore, to consume chlorophyll is like receiving a healthy blood transfusion.

6. Green smoothies are easy to make, and quick to clean up. Many people have told me they stopped consuming juices on a regular basis because it is time consuming to prepare and clean the equipment after juicing, or to drive to a juice bar. Green Smoothies are much easier, faster, and you are not discarding the fiber as you would with juicing.

7. Green smoothies are a perfect food for children of all ages, including babies of six or more months old when introducing new food to them after mother�s milk. Of course you have to be careful and slowly increase the amount of smoothies to avoid food allergies.

8. When you consume your greens in the form of green smoothies, you can greatly reduce the consumption of oils and salt in your diet.

9. Regular consumption of Green smoothies forms a good habit of eating the abundant source of nutrients in greens which are necessary to promote abundant good health. Several people told me that after a couple of weeks of drinking Green Smoothies, they started to crave and enjoy eating more greens. This is especially important because eating enough green vegetable is often a problem with many people, especially children.

10. Fresh Green smoothies can easily be made at any juice bar, restaurant or health food store for the great convenience of health-oriented customers.

Please bring a copy of this article to your local juice bar manager so s/he might consider offering this wonderful health promoting drink to the menu.

I encourage the readers of this article to start playing with Green Smoothies, and to discover the many joys and benefits of this wonderful, delicious and nutritious addition to their daily fare.

---------by Victoria Boutenko

(Matriarch of the famous, health- promoting Raw Food Family from Russia.)

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A variety of greens can be used for the Green Smoothies. Good choices are Romaine Lettuce, Baby Spinach, Kale and other type greens except for Ice Berg Lettuce which has little food value.

Add organic fruits in season when possible, otherwise whatever fruits are available at your local grocer's.

Good choices include high water content fruits such as apples, pears, peaches, nectarines, mangoes and bananas.

And strawberries, blueberries, raspberries and blackberries, when available, are always scrumptious when combined with ripe bananas (bananas are ripe when they have "freckles") along with your greens of choice.

Sample Recipe for Vitamix:

Put approximately 2 cups of water into a Vitamix
Add about 1/2 lb (8 large leafs of Romaine or Kale or 4 handfuls of spinach) chopped or torn greens, packed tightly, cover and blend
When the greens are well blended, continue to blend while gradually adding pieces of chopped fruit such as 1 seeded, apple, 1 pear and 1 banana (or any combination of berries and other fruit)
Add more greens, fruit and water to desired consistency and flavor

FOR Blender:
Follow the same recipe with smaller amounts. Example:

1 cup of water
1/4 lb (about 4 or 5 large torn leafs of Kale or Romaine or 2 handsful of spinach)
1 pear or apple seeded and chopped, plus one banana

Note: When using a blender, after turning it on you might wish to use the thick end of a large carrot as a tamper to push ingredients down to keep blades from getting stuck before ingredients begin to liquify.

Enjoy

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